The Fate of the Flower: Her Past Haunts Her
by atrophy-07
Summary: A little girl stood at the gates of Konoha, drenched from the rain. The moon illuminated her eyes... her blood red eyes. SasuSak
1. Chapter 1: The Uchiha Settlement

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: My first attempt in writing a multi chapter. I dedicate this to my first reviewers namely _CCRox4Eva, eluniumtherareore _and_ subtle.touch_. I'd like to let you know that it meant a lot!

--

The Fate of the Flower: Her Past Haunts Her

Chapter 1 – The Uchiha Settlement

She had been asleep for about a year now and yet she couldn't have looked any better. Her face lay there, framed by her pink hair, looking so innocent and carefree.

Team 7's Naruto, Sai and their sensei Kakashi visited her, as they often do when they weren't on a mission. They looked at her and smiled sadly, each mentally beating themselves for letting this happen to their precious flower.

But later that day, her peaceful expression swayed. Her fingers twitched and her eyes started to open, revealing her emerald green orbs.

And with that awakening, everything changed.

--

"It's been a while."

The raven haired boy looked down on the village that he once called home. And it still is, he hoped. A sentimental shine flashed in his obsidian eyes.

Three leaf village anbus appeared and tackled him down. This was expected. He was, after all, a traitor. They tied him up and dragged him to the Hokage's office. He made no room for hesitation.

--

"You've got guts to waltz back here, Uchiha."

Tsunade looked at him sternly.

No side comment. No arrogant retort. No annoying "hn".

The Godaime's features softened, "Tell me everything."

--

"Foolish little brother."

Sasuke glared. It took enormous will to stop himself from attacking his sadistic brother right there and then. He decided against it. He needed answers, and he would get them now. He ignored his body's aching to rip Itachi to pieces.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, his eyes searching for Itachi's.

"…"

Itachi closed his eyes as the horrors of his past crept back to haunt him once again. He opened his eyes and met his brother's gaze.

"I didn't," he started. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach. "I did not murder our clan."

Sasuke winced, unbelieving.

He saw it. Her parents lay there in a pool of blood and his brother stood there. His hands outstretched in a killing position. His fingers stained with the blood of his family.

_If you want to defeat me, hate me brother. You must hate me._

'_You didn't see him. You just assumed,_' a voice whispered the young Uchiha's head. Once again he sought his brother's eyes, he wanted to know. He wanted the truth.

"That night," Itachi finally continued, "the Akatsuki came and murdered everyone. Our clan has long opposed them. They came to get rid of us once and for all."

Awkward silence. Itachi breathed in heavily.

"I-I saw t-them," he stuttered quite un-Uchiha-like. "I-I saw them all die. Right in front of my eyes. And I couldn't do anything. No, I didn't do anything. I was a coward. I was weak. I stood just there–". A pained expression surfaced from the elder Uchiha's features.

"I stood them and watched them all die!"

"Then why?!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me? I believed in my heart that you killed them. I hated you!" He clenched his fist.

"You don't understand."

"What is there to understand?!"

Itachi looked away again. "I deserved your hate. I'm a failure as a son and as a brother." He shooked violently. "I didn't want you to end up like me, a coward – worse than a traitor." His voice grew hoarse. Both Uchihas were not accustomed to conveying emotions. Not after the incident.

Sasuke clenched his fist tighter.

"I joined the Akatsuki to become strong. Strong enough to overturn them. Strong enough to avenge our clan. I–" Itachi wasn't able to finish. He flew back and hit the wall.

Sasuke had punched him square in the face.

"Look who's talking like a fool!" he yanked the still dumbstruck Itachi by his shirt.

"You could have told me. I wouldn't have been alone. I wouldn't have suffered. I WOULDN'T HAVE LIVED IN HATRED AND DESIRE FOR REVENGE AGAINST MY OWN BROTHER!" Sasuke yelled, pouring out the repressed emotions he had held back for years.

Itachi then punched him in return. This time, it was the younger Uchiha who flew back surprised.

"I didn't want to involve you!"

Punch.

"And you think I'm not involved?"

Punch.

"You were still young!"

Punch.

"Hell, you were not that old then!"

And this continued until both brothers could no longer move. They fell on their backs and gave in to exhaustion. They fell asleep. The survivors of the Uchiha clan laid there with unknowing smiles on their faces…

Smiles that are seldom seen on the face of an Uchiha.

--

Sasuke retold the event to the Hokage, leaving out of course the more personal details. He already felt uncomfortable divulging his story, he didn't need to bother with the embarrassing sentimentality.

"I joined the Akatsuki afterwards with–,"

The blond Hokage shot up, "You what?!"

Sasuke looked at her sternly. She sat back again and cleared her throat, "Continue."

"I joined the Akatsuki afterwards with my brother's commendation. We managed to persuade the Akatsuki into entering a war with Orochimaru. They defeated Sound, but in turn lost men, and the ones left suffered great casualties. We took this opportunity to overturn them. We succeeded in completely defeating them."

The raven haired boy finished and awaited Tsunade's response.

The Godaime knitted her brows as she digested this information – Itachi's innocence, the demise of Orochimaru, Sound and Akatsuki… not at all easy to take in all at once. Not knowing what else to say, she asked, "So, where's Itachi?"

Sasuke frowned and lowered his head, hoping his raven locks were long enough to mask the sudden sadness that filled his eyes.

He gulped hard, attempting to unfreeze his turned-cold throat. "He died," he muttered almost incomprehensively, "during the siege on the Akatsuki."

Tsunade nodded sympathetically. After an awkward silence, she smiled. "Well then, welcome back… Uchiha Sasuke."

--

"TEME!"

A blond boy rushed and punched the unexpecting Uchiha as he stepped onto the street. Before the attack even registered, Uzumaki Naruto held the dark eyed boy in a death grip hug.

"What the– Oi dobe, get off!"

Naruto started swaying him around, a foxy grin plastered on his face.

"Get the fuck off me!"

This time, Naruto obliged. Sasuke sighed and ran his fingers through his locks. "How's it going, dobe?"

Before the blue-eyed blond could answer, a poof came out of nowhere, as well as a familiar silver haired jounin.

"Yo!" their perverted sensei, Hatake Kakashi greeted. As usual, one hand held his all time favorite, Icha Icha Paradise. He smirked behind the mask that hid half his face.

"Kakashi," Sasuke acknowledged.

"So finally, you're back from being lost in the path of life?"

"Hn."

They shook hands in all formalities.

"Team 7, ei. So where's Sakura?"

Naruto and Kakashi exchanged looks, their expressions turning grim.

They averted their eyes to anything but the boy that awaited their answer.

Finally, Naruto spoke, still not brave enough to look in those obsidian eyes.

"Sakura is…"

--

A/N: That's chapter 1! What do you think? The plot is still blurry, I promise to clear some of it in the next chapter. Anyways, expect plenty more flashbacks. I like clarifying things, hehe. Hope it's not confusing you.

About the Sasuke-Itachi part, it's a bit mushy, I hope you don't mind. I did emphasize that both were uncomfortable with the scene.

Please review, I would appreciate it oh so much! Thank you for reading!!


	2. Chapter 2: Sakura's Accident

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Okay, so here's the next one!!

--

The Fate of the Flower: Her Past Haunts Her

Chapter 2 – Sakura's Accident

She scanned the room, her eyes searching for a face. None. She was alone. Tears threaten to fall from her jade eyes. She fought hard against it, and failed all too miserably. She wailed, unconsciously making sure she was heard by someone.

Someone who would come and comfort her.

But in the dead of the night, nobody heard. Or came. Or comforted.

When tears no longer flowed from her eyes, she got up and left the hospital. She walked aimlessly on the streets of Konoha and found herself upon its gates.

Memories flooded her. Painful Memories. Not the one she had been remembering for four years. Not the day Sasuke left.

It was a different memory – the day she first came to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

_A little girl stood at the gates of Konoha, drenched from the rain. Her frail body was covered with torn clothes and bleeding wounds. Her hair was unusually pink and was disarrayed. _

_The moon illuminated her eyes... her blood red eyes._

_--_

Sasuke stood in disbelief.

"What do you mean?"

Naruto lowered his gaze, shifting uncomfortably as he felt onyx eyes bore into him.

"W-well y-you see, s-she had an... an accident," he started. "During one of our missions, s-she was thrown off a cliff."

"We managed to bring her back and got her to the hospital, but she went into a coma afterwards," Kakashi continued.

"So she's alive then?" the raven haired boy asked, holding his breath, awaiting the inevitable.

"Well we don't exactly know–."

"What do you mean you don't know? WHERE IS SHE?"

His two comrades stared. Never once had Uchiha raised his voice to them. He was too cool for that.

With clenched fist, eyes squinted, the blond stuttered, "S-she disappeared. We visited h-her one day and she was g-gone."

"The Hokage gathered anbus to form a search party," their sensei explained. "It went for about a year, but we didn't finde her. Not one single trace. Tsunade herself told us to accept that she might be–."

"NO! She's alive. I know it. Sakura-chan is alive. Naruto interjected forcefully, trying to convince them, and himself as well.

Sasuke's head dropped. It wouldn't quite get through.

Sakura? Missing? Or worse, dead?

'_That can't be,' _he thought gritting his teeth.

--

Sai wasn't really normal.

His inability to convey emotions (at least the normal kind) made him quite alien. But that changed when he was assigned to Team Kakashi – the new Team 7. Hag and moron taught him well. Hag, especially, annoyed him to the core, which seemed to work well in bringing out his humane side.

He gradually became more and more normal, and human, harboring emotions. Well, all except anger. Even at battle or nerve cracking situations, the same placid and ever fake smile is all that could be formed by his features.

Although, now, it seemed that he has learned to feel anger.

He gripped the canvass he was painting on and threw it hard against the tree. His eyes were murderous, his breathing ragged.

_Inhale. Exhale._

A flash of pink.

Once again he seethed with anger. His hands clenched so tightly that they bled.

The scene flashed in his mind.

"_Naruto WATCH OUT!"_

_Dozens of kunai went straight at them. Nine sound ninjas ambushed Team 7's camp during their mission to deliver an important scroll to Sand._

_The Sound ninjas took advantage of the darkness to gain control of the battle. Kakashi, Naruto, Sai and Sakura scrambled to shake them off. When retreat proved impossible, they stood their ground and fought._

_Immediately, three enemies sneaked behind Kakashi. Sharingan activated, the copy ninja realized this all in time and used the replacement jutsu to sneak behind them in return._

_Meanwhile, the rest of Team 7 fought to enemies each._

_Naruto used bunshins to outnumber his opponents, although the sound ninjas did not easily sway. They were quite difficult to get rid off. "Fuck."_

_Sai and Sakura fought side by side against the remaining four. Two went down soon enough so that there were only two on two._

_Unknowing to any of them, another enemy stayed hidden in the trees. Distracted by their respective opponents, the hidden enemy launched an ambush on the unsuspecting Sai. _

"_SAI!" Naruto warned._

_But the ninja sped too fast for warning. Sai shut his eyes and awaited the inevitable. _

_Nothing happened._

_He opened his eyes only to see the attacker and a pink haired girl thrown off the cliff._

"_SAKURA!"_

Sigh.

He trembled slightly. Sai cursed himself for learning emotions. _Who the hell said they were any good to you?_

He shook himself and approached the canvass he threw. He picked it up, gave it one last look, then dumped it in the nearest garbage can.

It was ruined, but the colors, the form, the person it wished to put in painting could still be discerned.

Pink hair.

Green eyes.

_Sakura._

_--_

She left Konoha.

The pink haired kunoichi sped stealthily through the night. She was pale and cold, her fingers were frozen. The cold, harsh wind sliced through her skin like blades, but she continued her pace.

By dawn, she reached a place where blood red lilies sprout from the ground. Upon closer examination, mounds of dirt could be seen adorned by a stone each. The lilies grew in every direction, masking the place for what it was – a cemetery.

The smell, or rather the stench of the flowers filled her nose. The stench of rotting corpses, of blood,... _of death._

She fell to her knees and covered her mouth as she cried helplessly.

--

A/N: Again with the flashbacks, told ya, ne? At least _some_ questions were answered. It's still crappy, I know. I just hope it gets better. Tell me your suggestions to make it more enticing.

Please review! It's all I need to keep going. Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3: Sakura, My

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Umm, I'm depressed… Hehe… (??) This one's relatively short. I've got departmental exams next week, my nose is bleeding just thinking about it. Here goes nothing…

--

**The Fate of the Flower: Her Past Haunts Her**

**Chapter 3 – Sakura, My…**

"Gomen Shishou."

The Godaime eyed her intently. "_Sigh._ I'm disappointed in you, you know."

She nodded in silence.

"Very well, your punishment will follow. For now, you're dismissed."

She got up and bowed in respect. She turned to leave.

"Oh and Sakura," Tsunade called out smiling, "Uchiha's back."

The door closed.

"And there I thought you were so cold towards her," Shizune commented.

"Oink!" Ton-Ton agreed.

--

Sasuke roamed the entire vicinity of Konoha, three times already. It wouldn't quite register that Sakura, his…his _friend?_ Yes, Sakura, his friend, was gone.

His pace broke into a run. His legs sped off as if he was running for his dear life. He ran for as long as he could.

Finally, his legs gave away and he sat down panting. Exhaustion caught up with the younger Uchiha. Beads of sweat trickled down his face, his wet shirt clung to his masculine body.

He laid down the grass and grew faintly interested in the forming clouds.

'Sakura, my _friend?'_

He grew drowsier. Heavy lids forced themselves to close as he fell asleep. But not before catching a glimpse of something pink.

"Sakura, my…"

--

Sakura eyed the raven haired boy deep in slumber.

"Sasuke-kun."

Her lips formed a smile. Her hand was outstretched, letting her fingers run through his locks. She traced his jaw line and caressed his soft lips.

She snatched her hand away when he stirred a bit. He didn't wake.

"Whew!" Sakura sighed for relief.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her shoulder. Startled, she turned around, one hand reaching instinctively for a kunai.

"Sakura," a familiar voice whispered.

The kunoichi relaxed upon seeing a comrade. "Sai, you scared me," she whispered making sure she wouldn't wake Sasuke.

Sai chuckled. "I missed you," she said and threw her arms around him. Well, that wasn't exactly surprising, her being innocent and all. A hug is a hug. What was surprising was two strong arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her closer, tightening the embrace.

Sakura blushed slightly. Sai slowly let her go and smiled a true smile. She returned it.

He eyed the sleeping form and scowled, she was oblivious of this, of course. He took her hand and led her away from his _rival._ He smiled to himself.

The pink haired kunoichi hesitantly followed suit, giving the younger Uchiha a brief longing glance before completely turning away. Sai did not let her go.

--

"…_love_?"

--

A/N: See how short it is. Anyways, I promise to make up for it. FYI, if ever you noticed how all my fics involved the characters walking aimlessly, well it's a habit of mine. I would spend time just walking around and around (wherever I am – our house, school, corridor, anywhere as long as there's space).

Please review!!

Thanks for reading!


End file.
